Lakers Parade Set For Monday; Team Picking Up Tab

A parade honoring the NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers will be held Monday, with the team picking up the tab.

The Lakers overcame a 13-point third-quarter deficit to defeat the Boston Celtics, 83-79, Thursday night in Game 7 of the NBA Finals at Staples Center to win their second consecutive championship.

The victory parade will begin at 11 a.m. Monday at Staples Center and travel south on Figueroa Street to Jefferson Boulevard, where the procession will head east.

Unlike last year’s parade, which was followed by a celebration complete with speeches and Laker Girl performances at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, there will be no post-parade event on Monday.

City and Laker officials anticipate a crowd of between 500,000 and 2 million fans lining the two-mile parade route, according to John Black, the team’s vice president of public relations.

Players will ride on a customized flat-bed float, equipped with audio capabilities, which will help mitigate anticipated pedestrian and traffic congestion, Black said.

A convoy of double-decker, open-air buses and other vehicles will carry Laker coaches and staff, members of the Buss family, which owns the team, team officials and the Laker Girls dance team, Black said.

City officials were encouraging the public to take the Metro Rail system to the Pico/Chick Hearn Station adjacent to the parade route.

City Councilwoman Jan Perry said the Lakers organization has agreed to shoulder the cost of the parade.

Perry, whose district includes downtown Los Angeles, said the actual costs were still being determined, but she estimated that the breakdown would be roughly:

— $80,000 for Fire Department services;

— more than $5,000 for General Services;

— about $10,000 for the Information Technology agency;

— more than $1 million for the Police Department;

— less than $2,000 for sanitation and cleanup; and

— less than $4,000 for street services.

She said the placement of K-rails for crowd control would be about $150,000.

City and Laker officials urged people who plan to attend to parade to do so peacefully — and avoid the type of violence that marred the post-game celebrations Thursday night.

“I hope that all the Laker fans out there, when they bring their kids to this event, they can feel safe and know that all the people that have a warm spot in their heart for the Lakers know how to behave like family and make this a very wonderful and meaningful day when we have our parade,” Laker legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar said. “So I just want to get that message out there. I know all the guys on the team feel that way and they’re looking forward to having the opportunity to connect with the community that they represent.”